How we Helped Sermonly?

Sermon.ly is a writing app designed specifically to help pastors write sermons. It is a distraction free text editor with included tools tailored for sermon-writing research. The app exists as a web app, a desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux, and a mobile app for iOS and Android.

Challenges

Pastors write a sermon every week to deliver to their congregations, sometimes as many as four times a week. Imagine writing two research papers a week, every week for decades and that is something like what pastors have to do. Their job includes studying, researching, writing, and delivering sermons constantly. Balancing sermon preparation with pastoral duties like counseling, visitation, and administration can be overwhelming. Many pastors struggle to find the time they need to prepare sermons for their congregations. There is no shortage of resources or information. The problem is managing time demands, keeping their writing organized, and finding the right information at the right time.

Our Approach

Recognizing this dilemma, we collaborated closely with industry leader Tithely to create an intuitive sermon prep solution. Our focus was consolidating research and writing while leveraging AI to heighten efficiency. Tithely's expertise ensured alignment with real-world pastoral needs.

Solution Development

• As a leader in church software, Tithely had a vision for a writing app designed to make this process easier, but didn't have the bandwidth on their development team to make it a reality. We worked alongside the client's design team, giving input and helping shape the idea of what Sermonly would be.
  
  

• We started with a web app with strong markdown support. Created a unique way for collecting research using menu bar apps (for Mac and Windows) and browser extensions. We made it super easy to insert that research into a sermon and added ways to easily insert a Bible passage from a number of Bible translations. We also included an AI integration (built with OpenAI) to help pastors summarize research, generate outlines, suggest illustrations, and provide relevant cross-references. 
  
  

Results & Impact

Within the first year, Sermonly gained significant traction with hundreds of pastors seeking to enrich their sermon prep and maximize their time. Pastors love that Sermonly offers an all-in-one writing tool dedicated to pastors who love to preach. It allows them to write, research, plan, and share their sermons, all from within the same product.

Lessons Learned

This project highlighted the value of specialization, as Sermonly's purpose-built toolkit resonated strongly with users. It also underscored the immense potential of AI in augmenting workflows.

Conclusion

Sermonly is positioned as a transformational resource for pastors. It effectively addresses time management issues by streamlining the sermon preparation process. The AI-powered features enhance research and content creation. The tool is a valuable resource for pastors, allowing them to focus on their calling without the administrative burden, ultimately helping them deliver more engaging sermons.